SARATOGA SPRINGS —The 22nd season of Upbeat on the Roof continues Thursday, July 27, with Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra. 

The music begins at 6 p.m. on the lawn outside the Tang, and kids can pick up a craft-making kit starting at 5:30 p.m. The series is presented by the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College.  

Performances take place on the lawn outside the Tang and are free and open to the public. Visitors are invited to bring picnic blankets, camping chairs, and their own food and drink to make it a night. Free parking is available off Perimeter Road, next to the museum.

New this year: Tang Art Educators will offer craft kits for kids starting at 5:30 pm. This week’s craft is Make & Shake Tambourines. Participants are invited to use paper plates to create colorful tambourines! All projects are suitable for children aged 5 and up, with adult supervision recommended. Materials will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Formed October 1980 in Amsterdam, NY, this 12-piece orchestra led by the Bronx-born bassist Alex Torres has performed its original blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as Salsa, Merengue, Cha-cha, Bomba, Plena, and Latin Jazz at hundreds of festivals, performing arts centers, and events. 

Note: There has been a schedule change. Zan & the Winterfolk, originally scheduled to appear August 3, will now perform August 10; Veena Chandra, originally scheduled to appear August 10, will now perform August 3. 

The upcoming Upbeat on the Roof schedule:

•July 20: Hot Club of Saratoga, gypsy jazz

•July 27: Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra

•Aug. 3: Veena Chandra

•Aug. 10: Zan & the Winterfolk

•Aug. 17: Nathan Meltz and the House of Tomorrow

The Museum will be open before and after the concert.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —  The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation will lead a “Spa Complex” Summer Sunday Stroll, at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 23. 

Linda Harvey will lead a tour of the Spa Complex in the Saratoga Spa State Park, a National Historic Landmark. 

The Spa Complex was developed with the goal to increase both therapeutic and recreational use of the park. Between 1932-1936, multiple buildings were constructed – the Hall of Springs, Simon Baruch Administration and Research Center, the Roosevelt Bath Houses, Victoria Pool, the Gideon Putnam Hotel, and a bottling plant. 

The construction also included a comprehensive landscape plan that included scenic trails, the Avenue of the Pines, formal walks, and scenic vistas. This tour meets outside of the Hall of Springs located at 108 Avenue of the Pines.

 The “Spa Complex” Summer Sunday Stroll is sponsored by the Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park, a non-profit organization that supports and enhances the parks’ historic, natural, and recreational resources.  The Friends group will also be partnering with the Foundation on a three-hour bike tour on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Saratoga Spa State Park.  

Next Sunday, July 30, Executive Director Samantha Bosshart will lead the tour “Summer Cottages of North Broadway.” 

For additional information or to purchase tickets to any of the upcoming strolls or upcoming events, visit www.saratogapreservation.org, call 518-587-5030, or email Nicole Babie, Membership & Programs Director, at nbabie@saratogapreservation.org.

Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs

SCHENECTADY — The NipperFest Music & Arts Festival returns for its second outing featuring Billboard AAA Top 40 artists Jocelyn & Chris headlining a one-day event that promises to highlight over a dozen Capital Region performers on two stages at Music Haven from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 22. The venue is Central Park in Schenectady. 

Jocelyn & Chris, along with their band, have charted five consecutive commercial radio singles in the Billboard AAA Top 40, taking two records to #1 on the Relix Jambands Top 30, and appeared nationally on NBC’s Today Show. The siblings, both graduates of Harvard University, have recorded eight albums and perform coast to coast.

Last year’s inaugural NipperFest attracted more than 2,500 local music fans— soaking in the sunshine and great tunes while enjoying our creative community with headlining sets from The Figgs, Super 400, Sirsy, and Sawyer Fredericks. 

“We’re so excited to bring NipperFest back to Music Haven, or as I prefer to call it, Music Heaven!” said Nippertown’s Jim Gilbert. “This year’s line-up highlights the seemingly infinite amount of talent we have right here in our backyard.” 

The diverse lineup includes many up-and-coming local bands, including Precious Metals, Brule County Bad Boys, The Sugar Hold, Hold On Honeys, E-Block, Carolyn Shapiro, Jimi W, Margo Macero, ShortWave RadioBand, Lucas Garrett, Angelina Valente, Barbie Barker, Deb Cavanaugh, Rhoseway, Camtron5000, and Sofia Corts.

The family-friendly festival has a play area for the youngest festivalgoers. Festivalgoers can explore trails, play frisbee golf, go swimming in the large community pool, and pick up eats from any of the half-dozen local food trucks.

The Barn at NipperFest, a curated space, lets attendees explore paintings, sculptures, crafts, and more, adding an extra dimension to the festival. Find Nippertown on Facebook. 

Saratoga Voices’ Board of Directors has announced that Noah Palmer will be the chorus’s new Artistic Director. 

Palmer is the group’s sixth director in the organization’s 53-year history, including the decades when the chorus was known as the Burnt Hills Oratorio Society. 

“I work with many ensembles across New York’s Capital Region as a pianist and conductor,” said Palmer, a native of Baltimore who graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Music and earned a master’s degree from the Mannes School of Music in Piano. “I trained as a pianist, worked as a freelance opera pianist and coach in New York City and with regional opera companies, then moved to the Capital Region where I now work with choruses, orchestras, and opera companies in many different capacities.”

For more information about Saratoga Voices and plans for the coming concert season go to: Saratogavoices.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Arts presents a new exhibition – Mei Fabulae Continuare – My Story Continues, Collages by David Dew Bruner – at its gallery space at 320 Broadway.

An Opening Night reception takes place 5- 7 p.m. Friday, July 14, and the exhibition will run through Aug. 26. 

Mixed media artist David Dew Bruner takes the viewer on a journey through a series of collages. He layers vibrantly colored recognizable imagery with abstract shapes and textures all serving to reflect the intensely personal story he has lived for the past year. 

The work incorporates art historical iconography; personal photography; drawings, and contemporary media, that are manipulated to speak to personal vs. collective trauma, the human body, and LGBTQ identity. Each piece becomes a journal entry, each image replacing words, gesturing towards feelings that cannot be verbalized. 

This exhibition explores themes of darkness and fear but also hope and courage, and ultimately serves as a triumphant testament to Bruner’s continuing story. 

A percentage of all sales will be given to St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany for their financial support of people in need undergoing radiation. 

For more information about the exhibit and Saratoga Arts, call 518-584-4132, or go to: www.saratoga-arts.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York City Ballet returns to Saratoga Performing Arts Center this week for a series of performances July 18-22. 

The four unique programs highlighted by SPAC premieres by Kyle Abraham (music by James Blake), Justin Peck (music by Solange Knowles) and a program featuring three story ballets Swan Lake, Fancy Free, and Firebird.

The New York City Ballet performed at the opening ceremony for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in 1966 and returns each year for their summer residency.   

For specific times, dates, and tickets, go to: SPAC.org. 

On Aug. 2, the Philadelphia Orchestra returns to the venue for three-weeks, highlighted by 12 unique programs including a celebration of Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday under the baton of Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin; appearances by Yo-Yo Ma, Pink Martini, and Audra McDonald; and popular film nights like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert and Jurassic Park in Concert.